


Heavier Than Vibranium

by superpotterwhorelock



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Battle, Comrades, Comrades in Arms, End Game, Friendship, Marvel Universe, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Battle, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Thanos (Marvel) Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:20:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22274725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superpotterwhorelock/pseuds/superpotterwhorelock
Summary: The Battle for Earth has just ended. Sacrificing oneself to save the universe is no small feat, and it proved to be fateful for Iron Man. But it's clear that his body can not just be left there on the battle field. In this work, Steve Rogers realizes it is up to him to take Tony on his final journey.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Heavier Than Vibranium

The dust was still learning how to settle. All around, there was the kind of quiet that could drive you mad, pregnant with all the words people dared not say. The wind blew on occasion, but it wasn’t the harsh type of wind that howled as it tore over the battleground. It was the type of wind that let you know it was there, but also the type that didn’t have the courtesy to blow loud enough to cover up the sobs that had started echoing across the desolate landscape.  
The entire vicinity gave off the aura of shock, which was understandable, given what had just occurred there. Steve could feel the hot tears continue to run down his face, hotter than the fires that had begun to dwindle around him. They had petered out significantly since he first fell to his knees on the ground.  
Within the next few minutes, almost everyone had left. It happened slowly, but eventually all his comrades rose, staring for another second or two before slowly ambling towards the lives they had waiting for them wherever they may be headed. The lives they had waiting for them, that is, because of the man who lay before them.  
Steve took a deep breath before finally standing, only to move closer. He kneeled down again, this time right in front of his closest former ally. Pepper was still racked with sobs next to Tony’s lifeless body. Steve reached out his hand and placed it gently on her shoulder. It didn’t feel like enough, but Steve was confident nothing would for what she was going through. Pepper tried to pull Tony up to her, but despite the Rescue armor, the grief coursing through her prevented her from much success.  
They sat like this, the only two left among the broken pieces, for minutes that stretched on like hours. He didn’t want to rush such a process, but he tried gently. The words tried to find their way out of his throat, but it suddenly felt like a desolate highway. They took forever just to manage to find their way past his lips.  
“Pep . . .” was all he could manage. Watching her react to a voice brought forth a fresh round of tears.  
“I know” she choked out. “I just don’t know how. . .” she gestured at Tony before keeling over, hair bouncing with each sob. Steve understood what she meant. As dusk set, it dawned on Cap that it was up to him. God knows he didn’t want it to be, but it was up to him.  
He set his shield down with a resounding thud: resolute and permanent as death itself. The shield was heavy to carry, even broken, but what he was about to shoulder was heavier. With it came the burden of losing a true American hero. It came with the loss of a great friend and an even better partner. Steve maneuvered Tony’s limp arm so that it was over his shoulder. He grabbed Tony’s side with his left arm, and he scooped him up so Tony’s legs were being supported by his right arm. He stood up straight, cradling the former Iron Man in his arms.  
This was where the rest of the world began. He took one step. He took two. Each step created a little dust storm at the ground beneath his feet, just like the unrest that kept stirring up in him with each step taken. Three steps. The evening was breaking, bringing with it a new type of darkness never seen before by this world. Four steps. The uncourteous wind seemed to push Cap’s movements back twofold despite it’s lack of ferocity. Five steps. Breathe, Steve, breathe, he reminded himself. Six steps. Seven steps. The night started to promise a moon that would shine through the darkness, even if clouds loomed in the sky. Each step seemed easier and harder than the last at the same time. Eight steps. But he needed to continue on. He needed to do this for his friend, especially when that friend had given everything at the end. Nine steps. He pressed on, carrying Tony. With it came a sense of dignity, a sense of shame. A sense of peace, and a sense of disturbance. A sense of over all confusion. Ten steps. He carried on, breathing, with a load heavier than vibranium.


End file.
